The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Ocimum×citriodorum and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘Pesto Perpetuo’. ‘Pesto Perpetuo’ represents a new cultivar of Greek columnar basal, a tender perennial grown for landscape and culinary use.
The inventor discovered the new cultivar, ‘Pesto Perpetuo’, in a block of containers of Ocimum×citriodorum ‘Lesbos’ (not patented) in his nursery in Kensington, Conn. in April of 2004. ‘Pesto Perpetuo’ arose as a naturally occurring branch sport of ‘Lesbos’.
The new cultivar was selected as unique for its variegated foliage characterized by leaves with green centers and white margins. The parent plant, ‘Lesbo’ is non-variegated. ‘Pesto Perpetuo’ is non-flowering, a characteristic that it has in common with ‘Lesbos’.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by terminal stem cuttings in Kensington, Conn. in May of 2004 by the inventor. The characteristics of this cultivar have been determined to be stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.